Michael Bunting touches on his Sunday evening benching, incident with Sheldon Keefe

During the Leafs/Preds game, head coach Sheldon Keefe appeared to be irritated by something Leafs winger Michael Bunting did in the third period. Bunting ended up being benched following this brief exchange between he and Keefe where Bunting looked to be ignoring his coach almost entirely.

A lot was made of Keefe refusing to acknowledge his coach and the subsequent benching, with many wondering whether or not a rift was forming. After all, Bunting has lost his role on the top line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, sinking as far down as the 3rd line.

With the Leafs back at practice on Tuesday, Bunting was asked about the incident by the media, point blank. Not only did he deny that there was any sort of a rift forming, but he downplayed the entire event.

Bunting is a player who plays with a lot of energy. As a guy who plays on the line, it's commonplace for him to wander over that line and winding up in the penalty box. He has taken a fair number of penalties this season at inopportune times, so maybe the spat with Keefe was more about the Leafs' bench boss not wanting Bunting to put his team at a disadvantage in a close game. Whatever the cause, it would appear that there is not only no fire here, but no smoke either.